Dona E VanVoorst Obituary
Dona E. VanVoorst, 76, beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away with the presence and loving care of her family in Oak Harbor, on Friday morning, May 26, 2023. She was the only child of Russell E. and Hazel J. Brees, born on April 2, 1947 in Sedro-Woolley, WA.
Dona attended Sedro-Woolley High School from 1962-1964, then graduated from Burlington-Edison High School in 1965.
While raising her two young children, Jon (son) and Kimberlee (daughter) alone, Dona pursued an Associate of Arts degree in Nursing at Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon, the field would be her life’s endeavor. She started employment at Northern State Hospital in Sedro-Woolley from 1972-1976, Barth Nursing Home, Anacortes, Washington from 1977-1982. As a Licensed Practical Nurse, Dona transitioned into the mental health field with PORTAL on the Northern State Hospital campus in Sedro-Woolley from 1982-1994. In 1995, she was employed briefly with Western State Hospital in Steilacoom. Her final tenure of service was in Orting, WA, with the V.A. Old Soldier’s Home and Colony from 1996-2008. Dona’s service in the Nursing profession spanned 37 years.
Over the span of nearly four decades, Dona was a practicing genealogist. Her research of ancestry and lineage of many families in Northwest Washington and throughout the country, made for great contributions to the genealogy field. Other organizational affiliations included the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge #2362.
Dona’s interests included her passion for baseball, popular music, collecting antiques, and offering honest, sound advice to many who simply called her, ‘Mom’ or ‘Grandma.’
Dona is survived by her husband of 48 years, Michael VanVoorst of Oak Harbor, Jon Jensen (son) and Angelica Cesena of Oak Harbor, Kimberlee Jensen (daughter) and Robert Berka of Oak Harbor, and two grandsons, Thomas Jensen and Robert L. Berka of Oak Harbor.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Hazel J. Brees in 2006, father Russell E. Brees in 1989, grandfather George S. Brees in 1972, grandmother Amelia M. Gross in 1957, and an infant son, Ronald E. Brees in 1965.
A private family gravesite service will be held on Friday, June 9th, 2023 at 1:30pm at Maple Leaf Cemetery in Oak Harbor, under the direction of Wallin-Stuckey Funeral Home of Oak Harbor.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations and contributions to the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge #2632 Tall Elks Fund, and to the Oak Harbor High School Athletics Booster Club, on behalf of Sound Sports Net.
